Bluehawks and Horsemen go to extra time

PLAINS – Four quarters proved not to be enough as county rivals the Thompson Falls Bluehawks and Plains Horsemen met last Thursday.

The game came down to the final seconds of overtime and throughout the late season matchup momentum shifted back and forth as the two squads refused to yield without a fight.

It was the visiting Bluehawks who jumped out to an early lead and after one quarter of play, Thompson Falls held the 15-8 advantage.

The Horsemen rebounded in the second quarter, pushing the pace and finding holes in the strong Bluehawks defense to close the distance and make the game a five-point contest, 23-18, in favor of Thompson Falls at halftime.

Plains continued to find success during the third quarter, where the home team seized the lead for the first time in the game.

Nonetheless, the Bluehawks remained out in front and closed out the game’s third quarter with a 37-34 lead.

Competition heated up in the fourth and Plains outscored the Bluehawks 16-13 to tie the game at 50-50 as time expired.

The Horsemen had the last shot in the contest but with only 1.8 seconds left in the game, the score remained tied and was sent to overtime.

Overtime, as was the case for most of the game, was characterized by momentum shifts.

Thompson Falls scored the first four points of the extra frame, but Plains refused to go quietly, trailing by 58-56 with 4.3 seconds left.

The Horsemen brought the ball up the court and developed an open look for the final shot, which nearly missed equalizing the game as time expired.

Thompson Falls secured a 58-56 win in the mid-week overtime thriller.

Thompson Falls Head Coach Jake Mickelson was pleased with the resiliency of his team.

“The team just kept with it, stepped up and hit shots,” Mickelson said.

Bluehawks junior Trais Hoisington led Thompson Falls in scoring ending the game with 22 points.

Senior Dylan Vaught of Thompson Falls was also a force on offense ending the game with 14 points.

Senior forward Aaron Baker who ended the game with 16 points led the Horsemen offense.

Sophomore guard Alec Cole was also a big contributor on offense, ending the game with 12 points.

The Horsemen will next play at Frenchtown next Saturday, Feb. 14.

Additionally, Plains is scheduled to play a play-in game against the Troy Trojans, for the last spot in the district playoffs.

The play-in game will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 17 at Plains High School.

Plains Head Coach Carl Benson said the team will keep working in practice to prepare for the season’s final regular season games and the play-in against Troy.

“We are going to keep fine tuning things and work on getting our bench rotation ready to go,” Benson said.

Following the close win over the Horsemen the Bluehawks hosted the Eureka Lions last Saturday.

The Bluehawks offense and defense were clicking on all cylinders against Eureka as Thompson Falls rolled to a 68-48 victory.

Thompson Falls was in control from the outset jumping out to a 21-7 lead after the first quarter.

The Bluehawks outscored the Lions 18-9 in the second quarter to send the game to the half with the home team leading 39-16.

Though Thompson Falls was outscored by Eureka 32-29 in the second half the team’s early lead proved more than enough to give them the 20 point win.

“We played some really good defense. That is kind of what we hang our hat on as a team,” Mickelson said.

Hoisington led the Bluehawks in scoring with 16 points, while Vaught added 15 points of his own.

The win moves the Bluehawks to 12-4 on the season.

Up next for Thompson Falls will be an away game against Bigfork on Friday, Feb. 13.